1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for determining the physical characteristics of a sea floor and, more particularly, to such systems for measuring acoustic attenuation in sea floor soils.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art methods of measuring the acoustic properties of sea floors involved taking core samples, laboriously from surface vessels, returning these core samples to the laboratory and measuring acoustic characteristics of the samples by laboratory modeling methods.
Another prior art method of measuring acoustic properties of sea floors involves placing a pair of probes, (one a transmitter of acoustic energy and the other a receiver of the transmitted acoustic energy) in the ocean floor and measuring the acoustic properties between the two. For example, knowing the distance between the two probes the acoustic attenuation could be reduced to attenuation versus linear unit of measurement.
These prior art methods are costly and time consuming. Additionally, core sampling prior art methods do not permit in-situ measurements.